Ouch!!! We, OTOH, are going to get a mini-heat wave. 80 degrees promised for Thursday. Yikes.
abasket, we had flurries this morning. Unbelievable. The dogs are thrilled. Me, not so much. Of course I’m not carrying around a big fur coat that I can’t take off.
I was thinking I should have tried to do Whole 30 this month too - but then I realized I’d be super grumpy instead of only partly! I am missing my carbs. A lot.
Wonderful, dmd!
That’s inspiring, sabaray. What happened to my own resolutions for those pushups, squats, and planks? Hmmmm, this issue must be addressed.
I knew it was going to be a lovely, cool morning so before I went to bed last night, I got out my running clothes. I actually slept fairly well, got up, and ran 6 miles. The fitbit tracker crashed again–this time after 3.5 miles, but…I had on a different gps tracker just in case, and measured my full 6. No, I did not find this easy, but I did it 
The thermometer hadn’t quite hit 70 degrees by the time I was done, though, which is helpful. H and I walked a few more tonight. Thankfully it is cooler.
BB, I used to blog but I never could keep up with it. But I will keep that in mind when I’m writing, definitely
Dmd- nice! I have a trip to Southern California Thurs- Sunday followed by a 2 day trip to Maine on Mon- Tues. should be interesting trying to keep up my miles.
Romani- I would suggest that you consider making an appointment to see your rheumatologist in the next week. While email can be helpful at times, I think that having the doctor examine you and having an additional in person appointment can be helpful. You are in significant pain and Email only goes so far. You are a new patient and both you and the doctor deserve to build the kind of relationship that comes from in person meetings. I feel for you. Managing all of this is a lot. I hope that you will feel better soon!
Nice motivational story dmd! I always walk up hills with my bike – partly because I have a 20-year-old heavy bike.
Romani, I think a daily log is a great idea. I wonder if it would be easier to catch connections between pain and food, exercise, etc., if you used a table format.
I don’t know what got into me, but I did a long run (for me) today – 8 miles. Indoor on a treadmill, though – I couldn’t face the cold weather. My HR charge seems to get my heart rate accurately for some activities and not others, which is something I really don’t understand. Running it gets. Jacob’s ladder, it doesn’t get (I’m gasping for breath and Fitbit tells me my heart rate is 65 – I don’t think so). Very mystifying.
Yesterday I swam 1.49 miles (which I know thanks to my new swim watch).
By the way did you FItbit people see the new update? You can track your hours that log in at least 250 steps. Look on your dashboard - you can set the hours you want it to “measure” - I set mine for 7am to 8pm. Today I had at least 250 steps in all 13 hours measured. It also shows your “all day breakdown” - so for me, I had 51% active minutes and 49% stationary minutes. So interesting that the split is so even!
@peacefulmom I just had an (unplanned, due to pain) appointment with him this past Thursday and his response was basically “Umm… I have no idea why you’re getting those types of pains” and received a steroid injection in my worst joint.
My pain isn’t where it’s “supposed” to be. RA doesn’t go after your back. The place in my knees where the pain is isn’t where it’s “supposed” to be. It doesn’t line up with Lupus either.
I spoke with a doctor-professor of mine today and laid out everything I was going through. He’s going to see if he can pull some strings to get me into a U of M Rheum earlier or at least run my case by them for any suggestions.
The more I think and write about this, the less confidence I’m having in my Rheumatologist. I am very glad that I kept the 2nd Rheum appointment. Something just really isn’t adding up with all of this, even with the two overlapping autoimmune disorders. I think I instantly trusted him because he finally put a name to what I have and his office is extremely responsive (In direct contrast to my PCP whose office has gone sharply downhill in the last year).
I think I’m going to do both a qual and quant log. Write in the journal describing the pain and putting numbers in an excel file. 
Romani-i hadn’t realized that you had already gone back to the rheumatologist last week. It is very tough and exhausting work for you to Quarterback your own care in addition to being in significant pain. I don’t think that what you are experiencing as a patient is that unusual in the discovery phase of more complex cases. It seems like it really does take time to build a team that you trust and that you feel you can call and rely on. I hope that your professor can get you in to see the new rheumatologist earlier than May. I would be frustrated too.
Thanks, peaceful. I am really trying to learn patience as I get the puzzle pieces in place. I’ve just never been a patient person 
I will get there. One of these days I’ll be able to write on here that I did the 10k steps or swam x amount of laps.
(Although my short term goal is to hear my doctor say five magical words: “You can taper off Prednisone”)
Happy 120th Anniversary of the Modern Olympic Games (as Google just told me 
). I am glad the that Games, no matter how flawed they are or not, exist, because they give those athletes in “lesser known” a chance to shine. And the participation in sports goes way up in Olympic years (e.g., baby kid started swimming when Ian Thorpe was the star of the Sydney Games).
Romani, for what it’s worth, I know from my own experiences with my family member that it can takes some misfires before you find the right docs to help manage auto-immune diseases. As someone commented earlier, not all Rheumies are created equal both in terms of their expertise and their accessibility. It took my family member 3 tries to find the right rheumy and right gastro. She could not be happier now with the cutting edge knowledge and responsiveness of her docs. If you think you might want to find new docs, feel free to send mme a PM with the city you are in and I will be glad to ask our docs if they can recommend anyone where you are. Our docs are at major teaching hospitals with specialized auto-immune departments and may know docs in your area.
sabaray, at the risk of suggesting something you may already know, keeping your shoulders depressed when doing TRX (as well as other resistance training) is half of a compound postural position the other half of which is keeping your shoulders retracted. The two work hand in hand to provide shoulder and scapular stability (often referred to as “packing” your shoulders) and keeping your shoulders retracted inhibits undesired shoulder and scapular elevation. What I have found to be helpful is to stand with your back against a wall, your scapula touching the wall and then deliberately depressing and retracting your shoulders so as to press against the wall. Using the wall provides proprioceptive feedback that helps to isolate the muscular control needed to maintain proper shoulder depression and retraction when doing various shoulder involved exercises.
Thank you, Michael - that’s a very helpful tip.
@abasket, I saw that handy little feature on Fitbit- I need to reset mine from the default.
It’s in the twenties here today, but got out for a bit over 5 miles. Time for a pup walk!
@romanigypsyeyes Keep track of the weather in your journal as well. I have a friend with RA and certain weather conditions trigger flare-ups.
@MaterS oh another good idea! Yes, I’ve noticed that when the weather changes rapidly (as it’s been doing here lately), my joints are much worse.
@MichaelNKat thanks! PM incoming.
It was cool (not as cold as for sabaray) and windy this morning, which I did not like. I also discovered that my Brooks Neuros have some sort of flaw in the toebox where there is this glued seam that my sock/toes catch on. I’m going to have to send them back. It was really annoying. It was on the top of the inside of the toe box. I hardly ever send shoes back, but that is a deal breaker. Oh well- not that I don’t have plenty of shoes…
Yikes reading about the cold and the shoes. Those are not fun to deal with.
I am steadily approaching the top of the Everest in my Fitbit floors. I knew the city was hilly, but had no idea it was so hilly.
I like the pair of Brooks I got not too long ago, but thanks to my “toe lift” they already have a spot worn through on the right foot. I don’t know what it is with the styling of some shoes that some wear through more quickly than others. I liked the Asics I was wearing before, but the cut at the heel seems much lower now and I got a terrible blister as a result. They are certainly wearable but I can’t wear my preferred Balegas with them and didn’t have a problem previously. I need to have at least two different styles in rotation just for comfort. I’m feeling a trip over the mountain for shoes is in my future.